Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA), winning support in committee to subpoena the Justice Department for a look at the Epstein Files, found a way around Speaker Mike Johnson (R-GA) and his early shutdown of House business to give the White House and President Trump what Johnson said they needed: “space.”
Describing the Johnson’s move, the New York Times wrote: “The Republican speaker truncated the legislative schedule for the week ahead of a summer recess, moving to deny Democrats the chance to force votes on whether to release the Epstein material.”
[NOTE: Shutting down House business early, Johnson — who had previously supported the full release of the Epstein Files — turned deferential and protective of Trump, saying: “We need the administration to have the space to do what it is doing.”]
But passing her motion to subpoena the Epstein Files from the DOJ, Lee found increasingly rare bipartisan agreement on what seems to be the single national issue that far-right Republicans and far-left Democrats agree on — that they, and the American voters, want to see the Epstein Files.
The House subcommittee just PASSED my motion to subpoena the Epstein files.
— Rep. Summer Lee (@RepSummerLee) July 23, 2025
The DOJ must now release them to the Oversight Committee.
The American people deserve transparency and accountability, and his victims deserve justice. The wealthy and powerful are not above the law. https://t.co/Z2X2XkeFgK
With Lee’s motion passing a House Oversight subcommittee before Johnson’s shutdown, the DOJ is now compelled to turn over the Epstein materials to the House Oversight Committee, which is chaired by MAGA Congressman James Comer of Kentucky.
Three Republicans voted with the Democratic subcommittee members to pass the motion 8-2, with GOP Reps. Nancy Mace of South Carolina, Scott Perry of Pennsylvania and Brian Jack of Georgia joining the Democrats.
Lee later told reporters that Mace tried to play both sides of the issue, standing for transparency with her vote while trying to limit how much transparency the DOJ was really required to deliver.
Mace, according to Lee, wanted to the motions language to compel only “credible” Epstein materials be delivered, which of course would leave a DOJ led by Attorney General Pam Bondi and other dyed-in-the-wool Trump loyalists in the position to determine what is “credible” before delivery.
Mace’s “credible” contingency, if included in the motion, would scuttle the very idea of transparency, Lee said. “Whose standards are we going to implement?” Lee said, rejecting Mace’s one-word amendment.
And though the motion’s language sought to minimize potential risks posed by Bondi playing an editorial role, Lee cautioned that “you can never be confident that people prone to corruption won’t do corrupt things.”
Yet Lee expressed confidence that the subpoena mandates the delivery of the “unredacted, full, complete files.”
Wow. @RepSummerLee reveals that @NancyMace tried to amend the Epstein file release motion to add the word "credible" to it (only compelling the release of "credible" files).
— Brian Tyler Cohen (@briantylercohen) July 24, 2025
"But we're like, 'Well, legally, who decides what is credible? Whose standards are we going to implement… pic.twitter.com/nYljE7ND7r
[NOTE: Mace’s request represents the use of what lawyers like Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) characterize as “weasel words” — semantic Trojan horses that contain opportunities to undermine the validity of a measure.]
The three GOP congressmembers who voted with Lee on the subpoena aren’t the only Republicans defying President Trump’s instructions to move on from the Epstein subject. Others are also clamoring for transparency.
Despite efforts by Johnson to give the administration “space,” the Epstein situation continues to balloon, dominate consecutive news cycles, and force the administration to face fire from some of its previously unwavering supporters, such as Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who said: “Crimes have been committed. If there’s no justice and no accountability, people are going to get sick of it. That’s where people largely are.”
Republican Congressman Thomas Massie (R-KY), who has been adamant that the Epstein files see daylight, reacted to Johnson’s move with outrage, describing Johnson’s instructions to MAGA as: “He just told us in there to stick their heads in the sand about this Epstein thing.”
